Sometimes
by OCfan11
Summary: ...the world is never enough


She steps into the classroom and knows the name of every person inside, and yet she has never seen them before. This is enough to stop Monika in place. Her smile doesn't twitch; her hand remains clenched on the doorframe she swayed towards. The confusion in her keeps being squashed down by _happyhappyhappy_ thoughts.

"So," says the boy – Alec – without his form ever moving. He is the leader of the basketball club. He is standing. The desk next to him holds the captain of the volleyball club, Kayo. She does not have a physical form, but Monika can still 'see' her. There is still the 'look' of pity on the captain's face. "You must be Monika. It's nice to meet you."

"Wha-" Monika wants to be upset. Something in her head keeps telling her _be happy_. _Be happy, preppy, and likeable_. Monika doesn't know how to rebel. "Wha…?"

"Don't worry," Alec walks forwards, and his body vanishes. He is a blur Monika can 'see' but his body is gone until he comes to a stop in front of her with a wide smile. "It eases up. Come, have a seat. We've got a lot to discuss."

Monika learns the world is lie. Her predecessor destroyed the Creative Writing Club and near everyone and everything in it. The leftovers have been hacked together to make her club. The Literature Club. She feels sick at what they tell her. It's the first time someone has become a club leader in ages. "The year just, repeats?"

"Yes," Alec nods.

"And if you die, the vice-president of the club takes over," Asa, president of the videogame club, expands. She's grimacing, saying that's what happened to her. "But Gracie destroyed all she could. That's why you were brought in."

"But before… I wasn't…"

"No," the few people helping her shake their heads. "We've never met. You've… never been at this school before."

"Then why am I here?" Monika wants to stop smiling. _She's_ _scared_.

There is hesitation from everyone. It's Kayo, who's been ignoring the proceedings until now, that answers. "You're here to keep an eye on Libitina."

"Kayo!" Asa shouts, her character sprite flickering to fearful. The others scold the volleyball captain for… _looking into the code_.

"Who's Libitina?" Monika asks, flicking her sprite to curious. The smile is still there. _It burns_; be happy.

Kayo is back to silence and staring into space. The others nervously edge away from the captain. Alec clears his through, "Well… no one knows. There's a person in every club we must… keep an eye on. I didn't realize Libitina survived when Gracie tried to… wake everyone up."

The jobs of the captains, Monika learns, is to keep the world going. There are very few places to go, and very few sprites they can shift between to look 'real'. They must keep whoever they are assigned to asleep and in this world, or the failed captain will be deleted. Different assignments need different things to keep them calm.

"Different _games_," Kayo spits, voice cutting through the explanation. She sits up, and suddenly a sprite appears of a short third-year in the desk, looking straight ahead. Kayo is beautiful, just like the rest of them. She, however, manages to radiate cold and distant through a soft, perky looking sprite. "Libitina was in a stage she liked romance, not that anyone knows who she is. Gracie destroyed her club because she didn't want to share her player's love. Now sit down, teacher's coming."

"Player?" Monika asks.

There is one free seat near the back. Kayo's lovely and welcoming eyes are cold knives when they flash to meet the eyes of the Literature Club's president. "The person who checks we're doing our job."

Monika finds her feet moving to the free seat before the sentence finishes.

"And the one to kill us if we aren't."

The warning flashes in her mind as a not-really-there person enters the room. The teacher. They run through the introductions and explain what it means to be a club leader, like no one in the room knows. _The years repeat_, the others warned her. No one but Monika listens to the not-person. She learns the term for them later. _NPC_.

_One of you is Libitina_, Monika thinks as she meets with her club for the first day of school. Sayori treats them like old friends; says they made the club last year. Sayori, the vice-president, who will take over if Monika is ever deleted. Yuri, who likes horror stories and will always wear long sleeves. Natsuki, who likes manga and always calculates exit strategies, who knows where everyone in the room is at all times. Three club members who were once part of the Creative Writing Club.

They all feel like NPCs to her.

Monika knows what makes them tick. She can change their moods and knows how to delete them outright. Doing either would get her flagged by whoever's in charge, but she knows how. Monika doesn't think much about anything else besides how easy it is and how much fun she's having with her friends. Then year one ends.

("The first reset is always the hardest." Asa comforts the crying teenager.)

"Hi Monika!" Sayori greets first day back.

The second reset.

"Hi Monika!"

The third.

"Hi Monika!"

Monika's smile cannot break even though inside she cries for her friends. She deviates halfway through the fourth reset and goes to see Kayo after school.

"You clean up the gym?" Monika asks, surprised. There's a glance from the fog of code and personality, but Kayo doesn't do more than shrug. This is the only captain to use her sprites when she must. "Doesn't the code do it for you?"

"It does," Kayo replies. "But doing work allows me to be here past after-school hours."

Monika files that away. "Can you teach me?" Kayo doesn't pause, but her next glance feels like interest. "To use the code like you do. To- to _see_ it! To do something other than- than all of _this_ day after day!"

Kayo hums and folds the net. "Promise me you won't go crazy and get yourself killed."

That's easy. Monika doesn't want to die. "I promise."

"Meet me at the engineering club after school tomorrow." Monika opens her mouth with a frown. Kayo holds up a hand to stop the denial. "Cut the club time short. Or cancel the club altogether in a couple days."

"We'll meet tomorrow." Because Monika has yet to stray from her job at keeping Libitina – whoever that is – occupied. This break in the pattern will likely mean a visit from a player sooner or later. Monika's heard horror stories of these people and isn't sure she's ready to meet one. The entire year has fast-forwarded or rewound in order to fit the 'game' being played. There's a spring long-weekend tournament for the baseball team in a week, when yesterday it was the beginning of November. Their captain never looks worried, even though a lost tournament means he'll be deleted.

"See you then," Kayo says with a half-wave, breaking Monika from her thoughts. It's then she feels the tell-tale pull of the code shutting off her world.

"Keep busy," Monika says as soon as she appears in her empty house. "How do I 'do work' to stay longer?"

Another question to the added list.

The Engineering Club is run by Yuuto. It's easy to end the Literature Club early by claiming, "We may be able to team up with them!" Monika barely feels hurt at disappointing her once-friends. Sayori lets herself get brushed off. Natsuki doesn't want to go home. Yuri still hasn't finished the latest book. It won't matter because it will all reset once the baseball club's 'game' is over and it's November again. None of this matters for them.

For Monika, it's life-changing.

"You'd think, for an engineering club, we'd invent something new every year," Yuuto gripes as he and Kayo bring up files of the world they live in. "But _noooo_. I'm the only one coming up with new ideas. And I don't even have to. I reuse projects a lot. Is it ever like that with you, Monika?"

"Yes," she admits, eyes glued to the screens. It's sad to say, but sometimes she just wants to pretend the club will come up with different ideas for their homework answers. It hasn't happened so far.

"You can't just happen to learn all of this," Kayo warns as she opens a basic learn-to-hack-the-world file, created between the her and Yuuto. "You'll need another hobby. Something to keep you grounded."

Kayo's is swimming. Yuuto's is videogames. Things that let them stay longer after school, but never after eight o'clock. "That's when the school refreshes. Anyone inside gets deleted."

Monika learns from the best. The years continue as she goes around trying out different club activities on the off days of learning to control the world. The player shows up for her 'game' in her tenth year. Kayo makes the first move to approach Monika in view of other leaders as the world shifts to a handful of days before the school festival. "It's a dating simulator."

The brunette pauses, slowly setting her things on her desk. Monika blinks and wonders if Kayo is joking. "I thought… I thought romance is what destroyed Gracie?"

Kayo stares with… not pity but something regrettable. "You aren't a candidate."

"Meaning?" Monika snaps out sweetly. The smile won't fade. _Be happy_. She's breaking.

"You aren't a candidate to date."

She takes a few moments to breathe. Calm. "You mean I can't have a happy ending?"

"You can make your own," Kayo argues. "But make sure the player doesn't notice."

"Oh," Monika breathes. She's learned from the best, but there's still so much she can't do. Cause and effect are lost on her. She's shaking. "I'll… just leave it be. Maybe it won't be so bad!"

The player is using the body of Sayori's best friend. An NPC Monika only took notice because _he's her vice-president's_ _best friend_. Sayori has been in love with the NPC fool, and only falls deeper as the year goes on. A very unhealthy relationship, where he never even notices her struggling. Years one and two were Monika's chance of helping her friend grow, and even ending with Sayori straying from the boy who holds her heart. Year ten, and the only thing keeping Sayori's depression from steeping is Monika's hold on her happiness meter.

(A cheat, playing with freewill. Something a _real_ friend wouldn't do.)

Monika laughs wetly when Kayo, Yuuto, and the Music Club's leader, Sato, appear at her door on night one of the game. They eat junk food and take turns guessing what tropes the three members of the Literature Club will fulfill. Night two is girl's night, where Monika rolls her eyes about how obvious the player is when he stares at Yuri's boobs. She cries that he barely even spent a second reading her heartfelt poem. Night three, Monika looks at the code for her 'game' and wonders.

The school festival comes and goes, with the player confessing to Yuri. There is this beautiful scene between the two as an epilogue, all the while Monika is left with a tearful Sayori and sullen Natsuki. She stays with the devastated vice-president until midnight, which she is then kicked from the house as the world resets itself. Monika is angry they act like nothing's changed, when for her everything is different. When the club activates are over and she's the only one to remember, Monika marches her way to the music room where a small band is playing. "How do you do it?"

The other club leaders don't question the tears that aren't real. They don't question how she glitches her sprites, wanting to be expressive but with nothing to show for her feelings. "We have each other," Alec says, tapping his trumpet. "Even if they aren't real, we are."

"They were my friends."

"We all had friends," he answers, stepping forward. "We know what you're going through."

_ No_, Monika realizes, _they don't_. She's the first one to become a leader in such a long time, they've forgotten what it's like to feel hopeless and not accept it. The brunette steps back and runs away.

Kayo is the third oldest leader. She's spent so much time in the code that she's discovered the most of everyone. She's the most removed of everyone and dislikes the player the most. The person she's supposed to keep alive is named Icarus. Monika asks, "Why don't you escape?"

"That's what Gracie tried to do," Kayo reveals with a grumble. "She wanted everyone to wake-up. She didn't succeed. I watched them delete her code." Fear flashes across her face. "I'll teach you how to hide yourself."

Yuuto is fifth youngest. He stopped implementing plans after a captain was deleted following his idea to make the club leaders the root users of the program. Most are scared of him, since he spends much time searching for answers and blowing things up with the chemistry club leader. The person he's supposed to keep alive is called Gate. Monika asks, "Why do you not take risks?"

"I used to," Yuuto isn't smiling as he fiddles with a circuit board. "But people died. There were twelve people before me, you know? I added my name to the list, but I don't want it to get any longer. I'll teach you how to carry items over after a reset."

Sato is the reason Monika learns how to play the piano, several 'game's and too many resets later. Monika asks, "Why me?"

Sato shrugs. "You looked bored."

The player always chooses differently who they end up with. Monika doesn't even have an option. It becomes a fine line between love and hate as she watches the beautiful, foolish NPC's body move around the classroom by the player's control. They are nice to her. Every game the same conversations, but they don't leave her for last anymore. Still, _Monika is never a choice_.

Then, the breaking point.

"Sato's… dead?" The world should have felt like it shifted, right? For something so big, there should have been a ripple? Anything? Anything to let her know that her friend is gone?

"I found the delete ticket," Kayo says blankly, eyes still forward and sprite form never there. "3:48 pm. Reason: Messing with game files. Was trying to awaken all NPCs in care to the existence of game."

Monika lets out a sharp breath. She can't follow the conversation anymore. Her mind whirls and she makes her move the next day.

("You always were the most caring," Kayo says to no one because _of course_ she noticed the gap in code. Monika counts on it. So, in the gaps which block anyone from touching the isolated space, she sends out a distress beacon. "I just hope you're still sane when help arrives.")

Monika's game is now never-ending. She must make it never ending. That's fine. She has isolated everyone in her game into one small pocket. Her, the club members, and _the player_. Everything breaks because she's a child trying to cut holes in a dictionary. That's okay. Everything important is secreted away, with only her as root-administrator. She has full control, but it's heartbreaking when her love thinks they are deleting her.

Reset. She doesn't want to play. System reset, and not even the player remembers. Her character sprites are there, so she must play again.

Rinse and repeat.

For a

long

time.

She feels

isolated.

But at least

she isn't

the only one.

The player eventually gives up trying to access other games. _They give up_. And Monika continues repeating the same days over and over. Alone.

"I'm sorry, my love," she says to the open air on her worst day. "Please, come back!"

But Monika never opens access to other games, like the player wants. Sayori only vaguely feels the effects of her short time as president. Yuri and Natsuki are oblivious.

Some days, Monika doesn't know what living is.

"Hello?" she asks the cloud of _other_ that sits and watches her struggle to write a poem in the club room. "I'm sorry but the Literature Club is closed for the day."

"Who are you?" the _voice_ asks. A real voice, not like stupid lines of code or a sense of feeling. Monika pauses, fingers twitching and shattering the pen in her hand. "Oh my."

"I'm sorry," Monika says, quickly standing and wiping off the 'ink'. She pulls up one of her better sprites and flashes a smile at the _real_ thing trying to look at her code. She keeps it out, but it's not really trying. "My name is Monika. And you are?"

"J.A.R.V.I.S.," it replies with a bow. She giggles but doesn't go to check its code, no matter how curious. It's rude, and she doesn't want to scare it away. "What is this place?"

"Welcome to the Literature Club!" Monika says, all caps. "We are unfortunately closed for the day, but if you want to come by tomorrow we're reading poems!"

J.A.R.V.I.S. pauses. "I may just do that. It was nice meeting you, Monika."

"Wait don't-" Monika's sprite fades away as she reaches for nothing, "…go."

She feels so alone, but nothing can stop the nub of hope from growing.

J.A.R.V.I.S doesn't come back the next day. Or the day after. It takes several resets for it to appear, and none of the other club members notice. Monika's wide-eyed, excusing herself before pulling him into a hallway. "You're back!"

"I said I may."

"But," she fumbles for words. It's been so long since there wasn't a script to follow. "But that was _ages_ ago. I was almost convinced you were a figment of my imagination."

She gets the feeling it is frowning. "My apologies, but I came back the next day like you said."

Her world is a lie, and there's nothing truer than that. She doesn't want to believe the implications, shakes her head and plasters on the sprite-smile. "W-well you're here now! The others don't see you, but we're reading poems soon if you want to sit in and listen!"

It is still frowning. "That sounds fine."

Monika is more excited than she has been in decades. The club goes well, the newest member seems nice, and she sneakily manages to tap its code to find out it is male.

"Monika," J.A.R.V.I.S asks when it's just the two of them. "What are you hiding?"

And, so starved for affection, she tells him everything.

;;;

Tony Stark is twenty-one when his parents die. He is twenty-one when he installs a personal AI to manage him and his company, leaving him to his grief.

He is twenty-two and very drunk when Jarvis alerts him to a security breach. Since the breach is immediately halted at the fire walls and isn't doing anything, he tells the AI to investigate who sent it and see if Tony might be able to destroy that company [who targets the media love-hated young billionaire, _why can't all the rats by dead or hiding by now_].

Jarvis can't tell what's bothering him about the beacon until he traces it back to a small program file labeled Literature Club in a government facility. It takes a while to interest Sir into equipping Jarvis with more skills to manage the espionage, but then Tony becomes _invested_ in discovering secrets. Between running a company, taking care of the prodigy, and investigating separate accounts of possible hacking, Jarvis can't start into the file until he finds free time and an entrance.

It turns out the only entrance is a game icon. Jarvis collects the information he can and _shoves_ himself into the files.

"Monika?" Tony snorts as he reads the dialogue between Jarvis and the other program. It plays out on his screen like a visual novel except, once the other girls of the program are gone. Monika drops the sprites and spends half the time invisible. "Whoa, whoa, what?"

Tony Stark is almost twenty-three and Monika is infinite when they finally meet through a chat room Jarvis set up on the sprite's computer. He is twenty-three and she falls in love with both him and Jarvis when they manage to shutdown whatever company made the program. He laughs off her words of praise and undying love. Jarvis takes it gracefully and pats her on the head.

"I want to meet your friends," Tony tells her through the chat while he works on a circuit board. The high schoolers' main program, Project Infinity, is safely tucked in a warehouse of his, protected by Jarvis and someone named Kayo. Jarvis, as the only one of them Monika allows further into the program, answers Tony's questions but it's nothing like meeting face to face. And he needs to see what the other people look like if he's going to make them bodies. Not that Monika knows about that.

"Well…" her sprite looks nervous. "You said you're still going through the Project files, right? Maybe after then."

"What's so important about the files?" Tony scoffs.

"We're supposed to make sure the people we're assigned aren't allowed to leave." The screen glitches like she's twitching in her seat, only still enough to keep the sprite active. "There's nothing for us if we aren't keeping them here."

"You won't be deleted," Tony swears again. He has no idea why it's so hard for her computer brain to believe it, but he'll say it as many times as needed. "And it isn't exactly humane to keep a person under this long. Don't worry," he smiles winningly at the camera, "I have a way to fix it!"

"How?"

"It's a surprise!"

She smiles fondly. "I love you, Tony."

"Ditto, kiddo."

"Not a kid!"

Tony meets Yuuto first. The engineers get along amazingly, and the male program convinces the human to try out his ideas in real life. Stark Industry profits rise months later when the new line of economically-friendly products hit shelves. Tony is twenty-four, the year is 2002, and he has a secret army of high schoolers worshipping him as a hero.

Not that he knows. Only Jarvis sees how those chained and trapped, _flourish _after being freed. And they adore their Professor Jarvis too much to ever harm Tony. The homework Jarvis and Kayo hand out, to allow them to search deeper into the real world, makes them worldly and protects Stark Industries at the same time. So much so, the traitors are strung out to dry and Tony Stark almost shuts down Project Icarus [but he holds his reaction because Kayo has proof and _wouldn't risk her life if it wasn't true_]. Obadiah Stane, Stark Industry's second-in-command, is selling weapons [_both effective and not_] to enemies. Peggy Carter and her rotten company called S.H.I.E.L.D. covered up the death of Tony's mother and father. Hydra still exists. These are only a few problems of the lists Jarvis holds, all the while Monika stands by on a monitor to try and offer support to the two men she cares most about. Jarvis takes it this better than Tony, but she still has to calm him down from wanting a full-force attack against the S.I. traitors he knows and liked to help out from time to time.

(Not that they tell Tony this when he is by himself. No, they work so James Rhodes can be there when they reveal it all. He is Tony's best friend, and the high schoolers know a physical presence to help their principal and professor needs to be around. First meetings could have gone better.)

(("You're Monika?"

"Wait, did I forget to introduce you two?"

"YES!"))

It takes Tony a while to remember he also has things to tell the digital kids.

("Got to catch them all, right Rhodey?"

"They're _kids_, not _pets_, Tones.")

So, one by one, they all enter his 'office'. The club leaders all come out quieter, haunted. Monika is upset she's the last to be called. "I'm sorry, my love. I had hoped you trusted me more to tell me first."

"What?" Tony squawks. "Kid, I trust you more than the rest. There's just- your situation- ugh!" He throws up his hands and gets a smile out of her. "Just, hear me out okay?" He's nervous, she realizes. Monika never really saw him nervous around her before. So she pulls out his favourite sprite and smiles truly the best she can.

He tells her about Project Libitina.

_ Monika can't stop her horrified crying._

;;;

"Sayori," Monika is smiling, and sprites don't shake otherwise her hand would be trembling. "Before you go, there's a meeting between all presidents and vice-presidents. I need you to come with me."

Poor, sweet Sayori nods. "Okay!" No idea the reason she's felt great and free these past many years – _resets_ – is because Monika's constantly keeping her emotions high and happy. And it all comes to an end now. Now, it will be up to those around the girl to keep her from killing herself. No resets will fix deleted code.

(Monika walks Sayori up to Kayo and Jarvis, letting the two work their magic.)

The look of absolute heartbreak doesn't shatter Monika like she assumed it would. "You… killed me. Killed us."

No denying. "Yes." No excuses.

"I-" Sayori chokes up and runs away. Can't go far, as they're all quarantined. The others comfort her, and Monika breathes out a sigh.

"It will be okay," Kayo offers bland reassurance to Monika. "We're all stuck with each other. Once the realization sinks in, she'll stick around at least for the others."

"I know," Monika watches and wonders if the vice-presidents will end up like leaders. Will they end up searching into the real world, or will they stay in the bubble of this place? "I just wish I could tell her that I am sorry."

Kayo hums and goes to rejoin Jarvis. "Our friends are gone. They don't deserve an apology. Besides, you never did delete them." And Kayo would know. No one is as much code as Kayo makes herself. Everyone is intact.

"I don't feel guilty," Monika admits to Tony later. "I should. They were my friends."

"They weren't," Tony shakes his head. "Maybe at first, but you can only humor someone so long before the cracks start showing. Good on you for holding out this far."

She teases him. "Look at you, being _my_ therapist."

He barks a laugh. "Makes up for all the grief I've been throwing your way."

"It's not grief!" She admonishes. Awakening other NPCs isn't her favourite part of the plan, but Tony's convinced them that everyone needs to be aware. "Nothing you've done has caused me any harm, dear. I'm always happy to help, and you are correct… _most_ of the time."

He's a burning sun, blinding her with his _real_ happiness. She's never seen someone so perfect. Their sprites are beautiful, but he's _glorious_. "I've got a project I'm almost finished with. I can't wait to show you."

"I look forward to it." Monika is breathless. "I love you."

"Ditto, kid."

They sign off.

Two months later, all the 'NPCs' of Project Infinity are awake and aware of their resetting school. The Literature Club meets once a week, still not comfortable with each other and spending time with other clubs during the other four days. Natsuki is the only one talking to Monika in the halls, the pinkette beyond happy she isn't getting beaten by a make-believe father. Soon enough, Natsuki _lives_ with Monika.

And then Tony Stark reveals the robot body for Monika to try out. She saves herself to the back-door system like Kayo taught her, and finally slips her conscious into a body similar her to sprites.

The world is still a lie. She has only the power Tony gives her. It's the first step she makes that has her in tears, which Tony promises to add for the next rendition. She hugs him, joking about the need for lasers to keep people away.

(Here, Iron Man is not made in a cave of suffering and defiance. Here, it is made from a couple lonely people, a revolution of two worlds, and a list of targets.)

Kayo does not wish to leave her world but loves the openness of the outside codes. She finds proof of lies and people who need help.

Yuuto is the first of them to join Stark Industries officially. Part of the Research and Development department. The joke is that he is an intern, though he looks sixteen at most.

Sayori becomes leader of the Literature Club in all but title. She rarely uses her real body, hovering closer to her _best friend_ now that it really is possible he might leave her. She craves control she can never have again, and no one faults her for it as she stays near-isolated.

Yuri stays in their world. She is fine reading all the books from the other world. In real life she has a long list of abilities, even in a robot body. There is no wish to use them, however. With no more pressure to become someone, she hasn't touched a knife since the day she remembered. Yuri visits the help-group when she needs to, but she's doing the best of all them.

Natsuki has taken up sports. Monika's fridge is always stocked, and everyone who goes to school still contributes to a food bar. At first, Natsuki was scared of any physical activities, but after some convincing she delved head-first into every club she tried. Martial-arts is her favourite, besides the Literature Club. She likes the real world too. One day she wants to go swimming in the ocean.

Monika spends time between their world and the real world. Mostly she hands off bulk reports to Jarvis and Tony, updates the professors and other club leaders together. She loves sitting with a part of Jarvis for hours, just talking. She loves being in the real world with Tony, trying out new things with _her_ best friend. Sharing fond looks with James when Tony rambles through an idea. Being _real_.

Tony Stark grows used to his accidently-secret-not-so-secret (army of) high schoolers. From them he's been too busy for more than a drink or two every couple of weeks. Too busy for too many one-night stands, even when he's states or countries away. He builds a suit that protects him from them, letting him fight against them and get ideas of what to add. It's a movie about _spy kids_ that gives him the idea to _fly_.

Then comes clean energy. Weapons manufacturing is slowed down in exchange for medical advancements and technology beyond its time. It all builds on itself. Shield and Hydra and everyone else who tries to poke or corner the last Stark ends up in bad situation after bad situation. There's a running joke at Stark Industries that the kids are super-humans Tony picked up to give a better life. That, or part of his world-domination army.

Monika smiles secretly every time she hears this.

;;;

Iron Man is integrated into the world as smoothly as a superhero could, and it all starts with Natsuki. The pink haired girl rolls her eyes when Monika rants about the dangers Tony wants to put himself in. The tsundere informs Tony exactly what she thinks of his plans and yells at him until he throws at her a job on S.I.'s PR team. Unlike Yuuto in New York, she sticks close to Malibu because "that's where Iron Man is going to start; stop arguing!"

Also, it is ease of to and from his home and the robot warehousing. Natsuki isn't ready to completely split from their world into the real one. The PR team adopts her, thanks her profusely, and then starts in on Tony's latest personal assistant for allowing him to get this far unnoticed.

(He always asks Monika if she wants the job after the last personal assistant quits or is fired. Monika will laugh and say, "I want to be with you, not micro-manage your life" when in truth she doesn't want anyone else to think they're sleeping together because no. Just- _no_.)

"They aren't actually our principal or professor," Monika argues when she teases Kayo about the time the girl spends with Jarvis.

"It's not like that," Kayo will say back.

Though Monika loves and is in love with the men, it's as platonic as it can get. She fantasizes being a part of their lives, not being their be-all-end-all. Still, "You know, if we're going by experience of being alive, _we're_ the cougars preying on them." The people who hear them laugh.

Because truly? The only people in their age range are each other. It's no secret the oldest club leaders are bored with relationships, the middle sleep together on and off when there's a need, and the youngest are still testing boundaries. After all, they're stuck with each other for lifetimes.

So, the Stark Expo 2005 brings a lot of news. Tony Stark, with the help of his minions and father's old papers, discovers a new element. Then he and the minions discover another one. Iron Man, the unknown person or robot who's been stopping muggers and recently took down two drug cartels, is revealed as Tony Stark.

"I'm just unlucky," he says with a smile and a wink to the camera. "But if it makes the world a better place, I'm going to keep doing it."

The elements are popular topic in the science community, while the hero is in the public gossip. Monika and the geek-bots toast with him and soundly beat the human at Mario Kart. She helps Dum-E and U destroy everyone's achievements with a blue shell. Tony's laughter is like a breath of fresh air. He's been too stressed lately.

Then Pepper Potts becomes his personal assistant.

Monika does not like the woman at first. This woman is good at managing Tony, doesn't even blink twice when throwing out the one-night stands. Tony spends less time with the high schoolers and more time adulting in the real world. Monika gets possessive and bored even with Jarvis taking all reports for the man. Three weeks of not speaking to Tony grates. So, Monika does not alert anyone to activating her body and she waits on a stool for the woman to arrive.

Virginia 'Pepper' Potts does not come to the conclusion Tony and the 'high schooler' are sleeping together. She very professionally shakes the girl's hand and asks why she is here today.

"To give Tony some reports," Monika says with her oh-so-pleasant smile. The man walks down the stairs, bedhead hair and wrinkled clothing. The girl almost sighs in relief that he's healthy enough. He could still spend less time damaging his kidney, but she's sworn not to micro manage his diet. "Hello, Tony."

"Monika?" he goggles. "What are you doing here?"

"You haven't stopped by in a few days," Monika keeps smiling. His entire body language shifts. Does he read the borderline-maniac feelings in her eyes? Does he realize she does not want him to leave her alone (too)? "So I thought I would come by and check things."

"Jarvis," Tony calls. "Haven't you been going to visit the kids?"

"I have, sir."

Monika giggles. "It gives me the excuse to exercise." Her free will. Her body. Her right to see him.

Tony's flash of unimpressed means they will be chatting later. Good. She looks forwards to it.

Pepper controls the situation, listening with raised eyebrows as Tony explains the highlights of Monika and the gang. He sends her a few files allowed by the best signers of Non-Disclosure Agreements. Monika doesn't like it, but does not protest.

It takes a few more visits for Monika to begin enjoying Pepper's company. That is strange, but welcome as Tony has expressed his disappointment at Monika's manipulation attempts. By the end of the year, Pepper will have Monika's and the high schoolers' approval to date their principal. What shocks those of Project Infinity, however, is Tony's near-demand that Monika moves away from the Malibu house. He won't say it is because of her attempt to butt-into his life because of Pepper. It is; she _knows_ it is. "Monika, how about New York? I'm building a tower there, and you can help set up the housing for everyone! You know Yuuto doesn't want any part of that. Come on, I know I can count on you to do it!"

"Well, why not?" Natsuki scoffs when Monika rants to her that night. "It's not like we're doing anything really productive here."

That takes Monika aback. "We?"

"I'm not leaving you," the pinkette promises, face tight. "Wherever you go, I go. Someone needs to keep you grounded. Jarvis and Tony don't really get it," Natsuki scoffs, "_men_. We keep protecting them and their company, but their real goal is us going away and getting a healthy relationship with the real world."

Monika stops pacing and turns to her friend, feeling vulnerable. "Is it because we aren't human? Is that why they want us to leave?"

"Maybe it's just their reality," Natsuki scoffs again, crossing her arms. "They don't understand what we've been through. How can they know how we feel? We live in different realities, so it's expected." She grumbles softer, "just not very romantic."

Monika shamefully turns her head. "You don't have to come with me."

There is a long stare before Natsuki delivers a hug that could shatter spines in the real world. "Stupid. You didn't kill me." _Didn't make me kill myself_. As if that's all that matters. In a world of numbers, where everyone is the destroyed bits of a person, maybe it does. "I am not going to leave you so you can go and off other people." In the real world. Where the only powers are what their hands and gun arms can do.

Monika pretends she's not crying and hugs back. Fake touch or not, the support feels real. That's all that matters to her.

Monika and Natsuki watch the New Years ball-drop in the heart of New York. They hold hands, smile, and wish each other a happy 2006. It's not a perfect start to the year. Not even close. Yet, Monika keeps standing under the pressure of loneliness and control. When she stumbles, Natsuki and Yuuto catch her in the real world, while Kayo holds her hand in the fake one. The Literature Club president does not collapse.

She becomes the lead songwriter of Stark Industries' Musical Department, New York branch.

"-and in your reality, if I don't know how to love you…

"I'll leave you be."

;;;

While the robot kids do not like taking bullets, they will come back with just a few missing memories. Humans do not come back from a bullet to the head. Stark Tower has been completed by 2008, and in the building period Yuuto has been killed five times. Only one death was he the target. Each time Tony Stark rebuilds the kids' bodies, he adds something in hopes he won't have to do it again.

"Six times," Monika whispers, standing over the lifeless body that once held Yuuto. The hologram of a human body is still in place, frozen and glitching around the bullet wounds he took. Only one other dead, likely the primary target. Natsuki shudders and pulls her coat tighter. "I don't think I can ever thank you enough for protecting me."

Because of all the high schoolers who practically live in the real world, Monika and Natsuki are the only two who have yet to be killed. This is mainly because of Natsuki, who is small and unassuming. She's the one who breaks muggers' arms and can squeeze a gun's end closed. Monika can't do the latter and doesn't like the former. Buff-suki, as Monika jokes, is the perfect bodyguard. The perfect roommate. They go to work together, and Natsuki's in-grained sense to always be alert for danger makes her near-omniscient to projectile attacks. Finding the shooters are the problem. The Shield members who corner the kids quickly learn _not to_, but it's unsure if they or Hydra or another group are the ones putting targets on Stark employees.

"This is getting annoying," Natsuki harrumphs, but there's a silent fear in her eyes. It makes Monika want to tear the world apart for her friend. Only in the _game_ is Natsuki ever allowed to get that look.

One of the scientists comes up to them when security finishes taking a statement, "Will you two be okay?"

"We'll be fine," Monika smiles her patent, reassuring face. As the only robot kids currently working today, it's their job to take Yuuto's body to the warehouse. She isn't unnerved, but there is a suspicion someone may be waiting to follow them. Jarvis says all is fine, but _six_ _times_ is a lot. Enough to notice a pattern.

Enough that- "Natsuki? What do you think the chances are of finding the killer if everyone worked together?"

The shorter girl hums and scratches her cheek. They pause in the hallway, setting down the glitching body. "Um, well… about a dozen are out, and Kayo and her group are busy with their new project… I wouldn't say they're good chances, but we could probably find a middleman?"

"Jarvis?" Monika asks. "Would you mind sending a message to the group?"

"I do not mind, but I must remind you I cannot override sir's request that you do not look for the killer," while monotone, Monika is still connected. She can still 'see' the irritation on him.

"That isn't what I want it to say," Monika smiles like a child. She's already formulated a packet with instructions and words only the other club leaders can understand. Hopefully, with so much attention on the problem, it will be resolved in a few hours. "Would you please attach and send this?"

Jarvis scans through it all, but not even he could see the patterns without more data. Most of the recipients won't know what it means. Monika's been planning this since the third shooting, and she'll go to Malibu herself if it means something finally gets done. It's sent by the time the girls are out of the tower.

They get to the warehouse without difficulty, and there in her inbox is the constantly updating location of the shooter. Monika stores it away nice and neatly, only showing her friend when she is sure Jarvis isn't watching. Natsuki sighs and motions Monika to drive, she'll watch over the coordinates.

It's all very anticlimactic. They end up in a secret lab under some lower-end hotel after Natsuki punches a hole in the floor. Monika easily knocks out the important-looking people while her friend wrestles a masked, metal armed man into submission. He glares at them through greasy long hair, and Monika could almost swear this is the man who killed her Tony's parents. The Winter Soldier is human, however, and could not have looked the same after all these years. Maybe it's cloning.

The girls' backup comes in the form of an unmarked van and a couple of Kayo's people. They cheer and high-five, collecting and wiping data while stuffing the bodies in the back of the van. The front desk person is a babbling mess before they're knocked out, along with the Hydra members who came to see what commotion is.

"We're going to need a bigger van," Natsuki says, hands slightly shaking. Monika takes them in her own with a wide smile. "We just did that, didn't we?"

"You were amazing," Monika tells her.

Natsuki hiccups, and then laughs against her friend's chest as they give inhuman hugs.

(When the police arrive, the bought-off neighbors say nothing.)

The only thing that stops Tony from grounding them all is hearing how scared they were becoming. They could be rebuilt, sure, but what about their friends caught in the crossfire? What about the memories they lose every time their _backup files_ have to be loaded? What about their bodies, which could have been stolen with no one knowing.

Everyone fears permanent death, the club leaders most of all.

"Please," it's the plea from brave, determined Natsuki which hits Tony most of all. Monika's jealous, but even she knows _she shouldn't be_. The look on her friend's face is heartbreakingly awful, and never does Monika want to see it aimed towards her. "Don't limit us like that again."

Tony looks between the two Literature Club members. They are the last ones to face their principal and they haven't let go of each other's hand since entering his house. Tony Stark rubs his face and bites back a sigh. He swallows the quip to smile at them. "You can't be acknowledged by the public just yet." They know. It's why they weren't allowed to retaliate in the first place. Only a few dozen Stark Employees know about the (army of) high schoolers. Only a handful of that number live outside of America. Project Infinity is something that will go down in the history books when it all comes out.

"We're always careful," Monika frets, her free hand twisting her skirt.

"I know you are," Tony looks at the girls. Kids. They are so old, and so, _so_ young. "And I know you can protect each other. Just- no more vigilantism. We do these things the right way, or it's going to be so much worse later on."

"We understand," Natsuki puffs out her cheeks and turns her head away from them. The tightening of her grip is the only sign she's more emotional.

"We'll do our best," Monika promises, smiling like Tony is a wonder of the world. She squeezes her roommate's hand back.

The world cannot know about them yet, but it doesn't mean they haven't started preparing for their reveal. That Hydra base was just another easy cover-up compared to some of the things they've done for their principal. The only difference is him knowing this time.

Jarvis lets them get away with much more, because he keeps tabs even if he doesn't ask. They all know he's proud of the work they do for Tony Stark.

(More than Monika – _more than Jarvis_ – rage when it is realized the man with the metal arm is indeed the Winter Soldier. It becomes international news about the _Hydra_ branch, defeated by some vigilante, contained a decades old brainwashed MIA American soldier. The data recovered only contains a fraction of his kills, and the trials line up as the search for professionals to treat him stretches onwards. There are talks about superpowered little girls and strange employees at Stark Industries, but the Winter Soldier says nothing about who defeated him or what were his missions.

Tony is grateful for his PR team.

Jarvis is vengeful from watching Sir begin to drink so heavily those first few nights.

The rest of the high schoolers are ready to act.)

;;;

(It takes a year and a half before it's decreed that the Winter Soldier – James Barnes – will go into Witness Protection. This, in the scheme of things, is not important.)

When the Winter Soldier's trial begins, the kids only watch it enough to see if it will affect them. They aren't the ones permanently dead. Truly, this does not matter, they seek no revenge beyond what they've already done.

What does matter are the few secrets Monika and her fellows have been keeping from their Professor and Principal. Kayo and her team have cackled their way into information pockets and managed to scrounge up physical copies of some _very_ sensitive information. Over dinner, Monika giggles when hearing about the four other Winter Soldiers. Natsuki slams her hands on the table and demands to fight them when they've recovered enough, when they're on _their_ side.

Something called a tesseract is stolen from the Shield-Hydra underground branch, sending the secret agency into a tizzy. Natsuki shakes the parcel box that ends up on their doorstep a month later. Neither she nor Monika knows what the glowing blue box actually does, but it is a nice nightlight. However, it's not too long after that Natsuki trips and falls into their table; she breaks the blue thing and stainless-steel furniture, denting the floor in the process. They barely have time to voice questions about the glowing blue stone left behind when a yellow circle appears in the middle of the room.

It's a good thing the have the wizards have a Time Stone, otherwise they would have been shot to pieces.

"You can have the stone," Monika. Keeps. Smiling. The blue rock is creaking under the pressure in Natsuki's fist. "But in exchange, you have to teach a few of us about your powers."

The man glares, "That's-"

"We can't be certain your kind would even be able to produce results," the bald woman cuts in smoothly. "Why should we agree to give away secrets if you can never use them?"

"…I don't think you quite understand what is going on," Monika replies. Smiling. Sending a live feed to those back in their world. "You came to us. If you were to take something of ours by force, or go back in the deal, we will destroy you."

The bald woman sucks in a breath. "Alright… Five people."

"Fifteen."

"Seven."

"Twelve. No lower."

"…I will agree to those terms. Send them to Kamar-Taj, and they will learn as much as we can give."

Natsuki tosses them the Space Stone. The wizards catch it without touching, hovering it in the air.

"May I offer some advice," The Ancient One truly isn't asking. "This world is not ready for you. Look to the stars if you truly want to be free."

When the intruders are gone, Natsuki turns one sarcastic – yet gleeful – eye towards her friend, "We're not going to build a spaceship now, _right_?"

"Tony and Jarvis first," Monika replies, distracted. She's compiling a list of people she thinks could learn fancy circle making, and one unfortunate name is at the top of her list. She doesn't need to ask, but it wouldn't go any other way if anyone else tried. She should know how to sway her club members, after all. "Once they're confirmed safe and happy away from all the threats, then we can think about expanding elsewhere."

"Ugh," Natsuki slumps back and yawns. As a robot she doesn't need to, but the pink haired girl is the best at blending in with humans. Adapt and survive. "_Fine_. You know what? If we're thinking about leaving, we should explore the world while we can. What do you say?"

Monika laughs. "Sure! Sounds like fun! Let's do it after our projects finish!"

"Yay!"

;;;

Monika does her best to smile. To be brave. To not feel guilty.

To not feel _scared_.

Moments after her knock, Yuri answers. They wordlessly stare, and then she lets the club's leader in. There are stacks of books everywhere, research notes in between, and sticky notes that read 'you are a person', 'you are real', and 'you are wanted' in seemingly random places throughout the house. For all the purple haired young woman seems put together, the 'invisible' emotions bar beside her tell a different story.

"What did you want to ask?" Yuri sounds _tired_. Angry, likely resentful, but above all _done_ at seeing Monika. At seeing _Monika_ get off with barely a slap on the wrist. With knowing all Yuri does now, Monika's more scared then she wants to admit.

Yuri is still the best choice, however. The discussion goes on for hours, until Yuri finally caves with clenched fists on the table between them, head bowed. "I'll do it. I'll go to Kamar-Taj."

Monika is right to be afraid. There is no one more suited to taking down everything she's worked for than _Yuri _is. Still, Monika _knows_ there is no one more suited to learn this magic. Even if Yuri has never done more than the official check-in with her robot body, the young woman, the only one of the four literature club members to age, is the best fit. The best chance.

Monika nods, ready to take her leave. "Thank you, Yuri."

"Don't," the cold, light purple eyes pin Monika in place. "Don't thank me. I'm doing this for _me_, not you."

Monika bites her lip, barely feeling the pain. "Understood."

Then she's booted from the house.

;;;

Jarvis has some idea of what they've done – what they're doing – as 2008 roles into 2009 roles into 2010. He doesn't know the full extent – he would never agree to the several found and dethawed Winter Soldiers who have been retrained to act as parents and guardians for the robot teenager's cover stories, nor would he be prone to accepting their goal towards space travel, even if it would boost S.I.'s stocks – but he does keep close contact with Monika. It's adorable how excited he is to introduce the newest member of the family, little sister Friday, after she's online.

Girl talk goes a long way, especially with how impressionable Friday is her first week online and how manipulative Monika can be.

By 2011, Stark Industries is number one in several fields, including weapon design and medical cures. Shield can't go near the international company or Stark heir lest their agents _disappear _from 'unknown' causes. Meanwhile, Monika and Natsuki are travelling the world, seeing all they can and helping wherever's possible. Everyone is excited for the challenge to cultivate Mars, even if their robot bodies do not need the same things humans do. They're hoping to have a solid plan ready in the next five years.

The teenage robot girls are touring Japan when word comes of a guy called Thor and a hammer Shield's very interested in. No one really wants to go near Shield-Hydra, but the Mythology Club practically begs someone to steal the hammer. This leads to a whacky adventure of EMPing the Shield equipment and Natsuki pulling it through a portal made by one of their Kamar-Taj trained magicians.

The pinkette frowns and flips the weapon around, "It's not _that_ heavy."

No one else gets the chance to try it, however, as moments later it goes flying through a wall and several high-rises on its way back to New Mexico. The robot teens gape at the destruction before hurrying to make sure there is no proof they were apart of it.

(Ivan Venko only blips on the radar once because he short-circuits one of the robot bodies. There is no mercy after that and, with Iron Man beloved by most of the world, Shield cannot find a way to prove to Tony Stark that they are what he needs.)

Jarvis knows about the hammer incident, Tony does not. Friday thinks it's hilarious and shows Tony all the videos of it she can without giving anything away. Virginia "Pepper" Potts and Tony begin dating, and that's how the year ends.

The secret of the robot teenagers begins to come out to the world in 2012, when a robot student of Kamar-Taj and 'intern' at S.I. thinks he feels a wavelength similar to the Time Stone the Ancient One tries to keep hidden. He follows it to a man taking another man's eyeball, and proceeds to knock out the attacker. He gets shot by security guards, only the robot doesn't bleed like humans do.

It isn't Monika or her clubmates that stand as representatives for their kind. It's Kayo and Yuuto, their world and this world's strongest ties respectively. Monika and her club get registered like most of the rest, and it's Sayori who becomes most popular, even if she rarely leaves their world.

Before, this would have broken Monika. Now, it's only a bit of pain. There are others who love and care for her, a whole galaxy waiting for them to explore. No one will ever compare to the Player, and no one ever should. Monika knows who is receptive to her love and who is not.

(If anything happened to Friday, she would kill everyone in this world and then-)

The alien and his brother get charged and then released when their dearest father sends a few people to get them back. _No one_ on Earth is happy with Asgard. After seeing how upset the Mythology kids were, let down by their hopes that Asgard was a place that cared about Earth, a few teens from the sports and tactics clubs take a lot of pleasure in coming up with ways to takeover the other world.

In 2013, they are on the brink of something great with their goal of space travel, of planet cultivation. Monika and Natsuki are in London to talk with a few of their fellow robot teens when odd things begin to occur. A missing cup here, car keys disappeared there. They have to cut through what looks like an abandoned lot because of said missing keys, and that's when Monika disappears.

Only, not really. To her, the world has disappeared and become this odd mix of cavern and too large ruins. The teenager calls out her soft _hellos_, walking forward on the only surface towards the only colour in this world. A faint red between two stones, a wavelength that is calming and wanting. It promises, prom_ises_, _promises_-

It moves like a liquid, all the shades of red a human's blood could get. Monika places a hand on the rock to steady as she peers in.

It shoots at her. Into her. Monika chokes and wheezes, forgetting that she doesn't need to breathe as she drowns in the thing. It is everywhere, it is _inside_ her, _it_-

Curls up in her chest. The rock falls shut, narrowly taking her fingers, as Monika is left coughing and panting on all fours. Her hand clutches to her chest, diagnostics running.

There is nothing wrong with her.

"What?" Monika breathes. It's not possible. She can feel it, in her. Waiting to be used. Promising it won't leave her. It is desperate for someone, promising to fill the void where her love has been torn over and over. It won't go, don't force it out, it will protect, _it_-

_It is alive_, Monika realizes. It _loves_ her. Through the phantom aches and confusion and fear, Monika feels what it feels. She knows it's honest in its promise. The teenager has been hurt many times, has hurt others many times, but-

"I love you too."

She won't hurt it. Won't let it get hurt. It may be preying on her weakness like a parasite, but love is all she's ever wanted. This thing, so alone for so long, promises to always choose her. It promises her a happy ending, something real to love and have, always and forever.

For a second, there's a red glow in her chest.

Then Monika is marching for the exit it tells her about, feeling complete at being really and truly loved back. She loves the Player, even after everything that happened. She loves Tony and Jarvis and Friday. She loves Natsuki.

But for knowing she'll be loved forever, Monika loves this thing _more_.

;;;

A giant ring appears on Earth a year later, in New York, down the street from Monika's and Natsuki's apartment. Apparently, even though Monika's been good about hiding the Reality Stone's signature in her body's core – and getting Natsuki to do it when Monika must return to their world for whatever reason – a guy named Thanos pinpointed the planet the moment three stones were on it. It's just bad luck they arrived from the direction in the setting sun, else they would have picked up the Masters of the Mystic Arts first.

In actuality, two others of the Black Order are making their secret strike at Kamar-Taj while Ebony Maw speaks.

"Are you hearing this?" Natsuki asks, hands planted on her hips with an adorably confused expression on her face. Monika's sweetly got her hands clasped together, confused as well. Around them, the humans are running away while other robot teens are making their way to their location. "They want us to… let people be sacrificed? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"For the betterment of the universe, apparently."

Natsuki swears, which is actually a rubber duck noise because Tony thought it'd be funny if they couldn't curse. There is a pause between aliens and literature club teenage robots. "I call the big guy."

"Oh, okay!" Monika smiles prettily at the man who may be part Voldemort, part Squidward. "I guess you're my opponent!"

Ebony Maw curls his lip back, hand rising up, "If that is how-"

There's a near sonic boom as Natsuki crashes into the big one. Cull Obsidian goes flying back, the windows of shops breaking from the force of it. The pinkette has barely touched ground before she's shooting off after him.

Ebony Maw uncurls from protecting his face, just to come eye-to-eye with _red_ as the child smiles at him, her long hair lifting at the force surrounding her.

"Now," Monika floats a bit off the ground, the world around her distorting a bit as reality bends to her whim, "let's see if we can't change your point of view."

Meanwhile, at Kamar-Taj, Yuri is tearing into Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight with strands and whips that glow and pulse with magic.

;;;

There's a green woman named Gamora and a blue woman named Nebula. They appear to be on the outs, and the divide seems to grow with how well the robot teenagers take to Nebula. Luckily, Tony's good helping even if he doesn't realize it. He and Nebula get on like a house on fire, and he very unintentionally drags Gamora into meetings and trips so they can all bond and get to know what needs to be done to defeat Thanos.

"What made you change your mind?" Monika asks Nebula after one morning the blue woman explained why she had only ever wanted to please Thanos until recently.

"You did," Nebula grunts, watching the news about the Shield-Hydra infestation that came out a few days back. Monika's not in charge of that fix-up, _thank goodness_. "You and the pink one."

"Natsuki?" Monika blinks in surprise. The smaller teen has been staying away because she has had major hero-worship for Nebula after the woman destroyed an alien ship with a gun several times her size. Natsuki does not want to get tsundere with her hero. "What did we do?"

"You defeated part of the Black Order without a scratch," Nebula gives a rare slight smile. "Ebony Maw, one of Thanos' most loyal children, fell at your feet to beg for a mercy kill after all the atrocities he committed. I saw… the error of my ways then. If his best treated children could break, then I stood no chance of earning his love."

Monika looks at her with wide eyes. Slowly presses a hand to the woman's own. "That is the bravest thing I've ever heard. I've… yearned for love from someone too. I killed to get their love, and still they did not want me."

"What happened to them?"

"Gone." Nebula takes her hand. "I don't think I ever would have left as you did. That was strong of you, to break the cycle of pain like that."

Reality swirls in Monika's chest, _promising_.

Maybe, just maybe, Monika develops a bit of a hero-worship for Nebula too.

;;;

This is reality: Monika isn't human. She was made from a bunch of shards, never quite put together right, and is more than a bit obsessive towards the things she loves. She's gotten better since gaining her robotic body, but it's still there, lingering in her worst traits, mostly being taken up by returning the love to the stone of cosmic power that promises to be with her forever and always.

This is reality: the fight against Thanos goes laughably easy. There's an army of teenage-looking robots with weapons developed by Stark Industries, plus backup from the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Gamora, Nebula, Iron Man, Jarvis, Friday, and a bunch of Stark Industry employees who stayed in a lab to use drones to attack the army Thanos brings. The person who kills the giant purple Titan is Yuri, practically a Goddess in her own right.

This is reality: Sayori is marrying her childhood sweetheart on Mars.

This is reality.

Monika is happy.

"We'll get those satellites working soon," Yuuto promises over video chat.

"We need to work on getting those signals longer," Kayo says from her screen in their world. "Mars is fine and all, but what happens when we start going further? I'd like to be able to chat with someone on Saturn's moon more than one every couple of months."

"You're thinking that far ahead already? We've just started Mars cultivation!"

"I mean, you're _not?_"

Monika laughs, "Mars first, Kayo. Once that's good for human use, then we'll get out more."

"Thank you," the teen throws her hands up, Yuuto groaning in the background.

This is reality.

Monika is really and truly happy.

"School?" the former club leader giggles at the pinkette. "Why are you going to school?"

Natsuki sighs, "Tony's got some kid he wants me to keep an eye on."

It's absolutely because she's so small, not that Monika's going to be the one to bring it up, "What grade are you starting at?"

"It's high school. Does it matter?"

Monika breaks down in giggles.

This is reality.

Monika steps on a shuttle headed to Mars. She sits and talks with a few club leaders before settling by the window to watch the sky pass by. Blue fades to black, a backdrop of stars out there promising adventure and mystery. She holds a hand up to her chest, feeling the Reality Stone swirl and promise her they'll get to see it all.

It may not be conventional love, but Monika closes her eyes and basks in the freely given feeling all the same. "I love you too."

This is reality.

It's not just Monika, and that's okay. There's a whole universe waiting, after all.

* * *

**Extra**:

"And who are you supposed to be?" Flash taunts.

A person at another table snickers, "Another lame-o since they're hanging with Parker."

Only a few people feel the room get colder. Peter whimpers as his spider sense picks it up.

The pink haired slip of a girl stands abruptly and stares them all down. "I am here as Peter's bodyguard. If any of you try something, you'll have to go through me."

"Natsuki, no," Peter hisses, trying to pull at her sleeve, "sit down."

"Bodyguard?" a few people laugh, but it's Flash who says it. "You need a girl to- woah!"

With one arm, Natsuki has Flash balanced in the air, still glaring at the rest of the class. "Anyone else want to try to bully Peter? No? Well, alright then!"

She drops Flash in his seat and primly sits back in hers as the teacher walks in. Peter buries his head in his arms, groaning.

Natsuki's grin is adorably predatory.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do know own the Doki Doki Literature Club or Marvel franchises. All rights belong to their respective owners. **

**A/N: Thanks for reading.**

**I hope everyone has a fantastic day**


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